That’s the uncommon question facing the more than 1,400 associates of WEX Inc., whose new chief executive, Melissa Smith, will announce in a company-wide memo Wednesday morning that she is due to welcome her first child in September.

(See the full note below.)

Smith, 45 years old, took the helm of the Maine-based corporate payment solutions firm in January. A 17-year veteran of the company, she was chosen to take over the top spot in May of last year.

“It’s a very unusual place to be when you’re talking to a board member about your pregnancy before you’re talking to a lot of people in your family,” she told the Journal.

With the announcement, Smith follows Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer in being in the rare position of serving as CEO of a publicly-traded company while pregnant. Like Mayer, Smith said she’s planning to take a brief maternity leave and will likely stay involved during her absence. She didn’t specify how many weeks or months she would take off, saying there was time to evaluate that as her due date draws nearer.

“I’m planning to work throughout the pregnancy,” Smith said, and “I expect to continue to be involved while I’m out and take relatively short leave.”

During her leave, the company’s former chief executive and current executive chairman, Michael Dubyak, will pitch in with the executive leadership team.

Smith cautioned that her decision is not meant to signal that a brief time away is appropriate for other female executives or women at her own company. WEX offers parental leave through a combination of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and the company’s short-term disability policy, which allows six to eight weeks of maternity leave paid at two-thirds of an employee’s salary.

“I think how you do it is a very personal choice,” she said. “How I actually conduct my maternity leave, how things happen [after], I think that is very personal to your own situation.”

Smith said the company’s board has been supportive and she’s thrilled to be pregnant with her first child. After watching her mother raise three children and continue to work, though, it was never a question that Smith would keep pace up until her due date.

“I was raised under this kind of belief of why not? Why can’t you do all of that?” she said.

In the meantime, friends who are in the loop on her big news have offered advice. For instance, one of her friends used to get dressed for work in the morning, put on a raincoat to feed her children, and then shed the coat and scoot out the door to the office.

For other executive-level women weighing whether to get pregnant, Smith again noted it’s a personal choice. She recalled that her proudest moments in life – like being a 34-year-old chief financial officer when WEX went public – were also some of the most trying.

“They are some of the most rewarding situations that you’ll ever have, but you’re in this moment of discomfort for a while,” she said. She expects a similar feeling as she navigates the balance between being an executive and a first-time mom. “Like most people, it will be a conflicted feeling.”

Read the full memo:

To My Fellow WEX Associates:

I am thrilled to share some wonderful news. My husband and I are expecting a baby in September. I’m excited by the prospect of becoming a mother, and thankful for the support and encouragement I received from the executive leadership team and the Board of Directors when I shared the news with them.

I plan to work up to my due date, and I will be taking a limited amount of time off for maternity leave. The executive leadership team will be working closely with Mike Dubyak, our former CEO and current executive chairman, who has graciously offered to take a more active role in the business during my brief absence.

Last year, the announcement of my appointment to CEO of WEX was one of the proudest moments of my professional life, and it is a role that I am thoroughly committed to doing to the best of my ability. Every day, I feel proud to lead WEX and look forward to maintaining our focus on driving continued long-term success for the business. Thank you so very much for your continued support.

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